Volunteering good practice: value protector movement

Operation of the ‘Value Protector Movement’: volunteers collect their community values in a wide range of categories: agriculture and good industry, health and lifestyle, built environment, industrial and technical solutions, cultural heritage, memorials, world heritage sites, sports, natural environment, tourism and hospitality. The Value Protector Movement encompasses activities across our borders in the Carpathian Basin.

Upon the initiative of the Foundation for the Development of the Pannonian Region, the Pannonian Youth Value Protector Network was launched as a result of the ‘Youth in Action’ project. Veszprém County is the third region to join the movement, but there are value protectors in Bács-Kiskun and Fejér counties, as well as in Transcarpathia. Value protectors are young people who are proud of the natural values, built heritage, traditions and local celebrations of their settlement and have therefore joined the Value Protector Movement. In this program, with the help of adult practitioners, they learn about the fundamentals of valuation, the most important elements of the documentation process and database creation, and collect local values from house to house. They write value descriptions, create photo galleries and short films, while also drawing the attention of locals to the importance of collecting value and local identity.

There are many successful programmes and events behind the community, and their exhibitions of value in the Valley of the Arts in Kapolcs have received recognition from the organisers and visitors alike. In June 2014, with the support of the Hungaricum Committee, the 1st Youth Value Protector Camp was established. The Zánka programme was the first to show that young people and their adult helpers from all over the country are now a true community. Young people who collect values as volunteers are treated as ‘adults’ by the organisation; they assume responsibility for the task they perform, which includes not only collecting the data, but also the administrative tasks involved. Volunteer training precedes value discovery work. The information is shared through teamwork. Each occasion is a shared and creative get-together. The transfer of knowledge involves personal experience and learning from each other. Teamwork effectively develops communication skills. They develop their presentation and importance highlighting skills, and learn the basics of journalism, photography, and video production. They learn to plan, make strategies, and learn the basics problem-solving skills. The young people and coordinators involved in the program themselves find it important to learn about and document local values, quasi-refuting the ‘I don’t care’ social perception of young people.

 

This article based on the following document: This article based on the following document: Practical Guide for the Establishment and Operation of Volunteer Programmes at Institutions : abridged English version